Weather News

Southern Australia preparing for second cold blast

Rob Sharpe,
Thursday June 26, 2014 - 15:37 EST

Powerful winds are surging across southern WA on their way to slamming southeastern Australia for the second time this week.

Western Australia got off lightly with the previous powerful cold front which crossed the south, but is receiving gale force winds along the southern coasts today. Inland parts of WA are once again free from the risk of damaging wind gusts over 90km/h as the main power of the front is saved for southeastern Australia. Despite this safety, wind chill is making 14 degrees feel more like 11 degrees at Albany airport.

Southeastern Australia will only have the briefest of reprieves before the next front arrives. Severe weather warnings for damaging winds were still current in New South Wales and Victoria on Thursday afternoon. Overnight winds are likely to ease before they increase in South Australia on Friday with the arrival of the front. Other southeastern states won't be far behind.

If the trees could know what was to come they would be shaking in their roots. Damaging winds are likely to fell trees and powerlines about southern and elevated parts of SA, VIC, TAS and elevated parts of NSW with a similar ferocity to the previous system in most areas. The only area likely to see a weaker peak in winds is Victoria's South West and Central districts, which bore the brunt of the low pressure system on Tuesday.

Blizzards are set to develop again with piles of powder on the ground likely to get thrown into the air by the next bout of powerful winds over the weekend. Thankfully for those hoping to ski next week there will be plenty of extra snow on top of the best June base recorded in a decade.

Temperatures will also plummet across the southeast, with a longer period of cold and windy days that will probably be a degree cooler for most centres than the coldest day in the previous burst.